AN important part of Cowdenbeath's industrial history seems certain to disappear over the next few months.

The former NCB Workshops, in Church Street, was the place which provided thousands of jobs for people from the whole Cowdenbeath-Lochgelly area over a seven decade period, as King Coal saw pits pop up all around the town and neighbouring communities.

When the deep mining industry started to decline in the early 1990s it closed, but its industrial role continued when Thistle Industrial Estate was created out of it.

It was inevitable that, with the buildings now coming up to being 100 years-old that re-instatement of these would provide a formidable task for owners of the estate, In-Site Property Solutions, and bringing them up to standard was not really viable.

So they have asked for planning consent to knock the former Workshops complex down and carry out large scale improvements to the area.

It will certainly bring an end to a story which saw Cowdenbeath at the centre of the Scottish mining world for decades.

The Workshops' workforce, at times numbering close on 1,000 people, looked after the pits of Scotland and kept them going by carrying out very heavy duty repairs on key equipment at Church Street.

Many people started their working careers as apprentices there, and while some went on to work in other industries with the skills learned at Church Street, others were to spend decades working there.

Even in the years as an industrial estate the site has still provided a large number of jobs.

In-Site Property Solutions, at this stage, plan to knock the 96 year-old iconic industrial building down in phases and then give the former industrial yard a new fresh look, which will be welcomed by the people of Church Street and Watson Street especially, and also those in Primmer Place and Seco Place.

For many though, it will be a sad day to see the former NCB Workshops go for good.